Men's Hoops Defeats South Florida in Tuesday Contest

HOUSTON (AP) - University of Houston senior guard Kyler Edwards had 23 points and seven rebounds, graduate forward Fabian White Jr. added 16 points and five rebounds, and No. 10 Houston won its eighth straight by beating South Florida 74-55 inside the Fertitta Center on Tuesday night.

Edwards, who scored a career-high 29 points with seven 3-pointers on Saturday night, had six 3-pointers against the Bulls and 17 first-half points.

''I feel like I'm in a good rhythm, but I also give credit to my teammates because they are always looking for me,'' Edwards said. ''They know where I'm at at all times, so I just give credit to them and how they look for me.''

Graduate forward Josh Carlton finished with 15 points and five rebounds, and graduate guard Taze Moore scored 13 points for the Cougars (16-2, 5-0 American Athletic Conference). WIth his point total, Moore moved past 1,000 points in his collegiate career. The Southaven, Miss., native scored 884 points at Cal State Bakersfield (2016-21) and has 123 points (and counting) in 16 games at Houston for a total of 1,007.

''They were ready to double team tonight, so something I have been improving on is making better decisions on playing out of the double team,'' said Carlton, who had 30 points and 11 rebounds in Houston's win at South Florida on Jan. 5. ''I was making sure I was finding the open teammate, make the smart plays, not trying to force it and just playing smart basketball.

''I think I'm getting better at that and just trying to improve every game as I'm seeing different defenses.''

Houston, which shot 45%, won its 35th straight home game - the third-longest active home-winning streak in the nation behind Gonzaga and Liberty.

''For these guys after everything they've been through to be sitting here at 5-0 and 16-2 is pretty remarkable to me,'' Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. ''How long is it going to last? I don't know. Everybody's going to lose. . We just got to continue playing good and get ready for the next one.''

DJ Patrick scored 19 points, and Caleb Murphy added 12 points for the Bulls (6-11, 1-4), which lost their fourth in the last five games.

South Florida shot 35%, went seven of 22 on 3-pointers and were forced into 17 turnovers, which Houston turned into 17 points.

''They did a great job of heating us up a little bit and that forced the turnovers,'' South Florida coach Brian Gregory said. ''You got to make shots. When open shots show, you don't have to make every one but nearly every one.''

After South Florida scored the first four points of the game, Houston used a 17-2 run over a six-minute span to open up an 11-point lead. Houston upped its lead to as much as 23 in the first half and led 38-18 at the half.

BIG PICTURE
South Florida: The Bulls have not beaten a ranked team since Feb. 29, 2012, at Louisville. . South Florida struggled shooting in the first half, making 28% of its shots and going 1 for 10 on 3-pointers. . The Bulls outrebounded Houston, 39-36.

Houston: The Cougars have won 11 straight against South Florida. . Houston guard Jamal Shead, who sprained his right ankle early in the game Saturday night and missed the rest of it, came off the bench on Tuesday and played 20 minutes. He played with a sleeve on his right leg.

Sampson said Shead was on crutches and in a boot on Sunday and was limping Monday, but he was running in shootaround Tuesday. Sampson had said Monday morning that the team expected Shead to miss at least a week with the injury.

''I was shocked when I saw him running,'' Sampson said.

THROWBACK TUESDAY
Houston donned the uniforms worn by the team from the late 1950s until the 1985-86 season.

UP NEXT
• Following Tuesday's game, the Cougars continue their homestand at 5 p.m., Saturday, vs. East Carolina inside the Fertitta Center. That game will be shown on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
• From there, the Cougars close out the month of January when they face UCF at 7 p.m. (CST) in Orlando on Jan. 29. That game will air on ESPN2.
• Houston opens the month of February when it plays host to Tulane at 7 p.m., Feb. 2, inside the Fertitta Center. That game will air on ESPN+.
• All Houston Men's Basketball games can be heard on 950 AM KPRC.

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